- The UN chief held out hope in the Paris Agreement to cut harmful emissions and reduce global warming
- Under the Paris Agreement, the world is required to keep temperature rise under 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century
ABU DHABI: UN chief Antonio Guterres said climate-related devastation was striking the planet on a weekly basis and warned Sunday that urgent action must be taken to avoid a catastrophe.
鈥淲e are here because the world is facing a grave climate emergency,鈥� Guterres told a two-day Abu Dhabi Climate Meeting to prepare for a Climate Action Summit in New York in September.
鈥淐limate disruption is happening now... It is progressing even faster than the world鈥檚 top scientists have predicted,鈥� the UN secretary general said.
鈥淚t is outpacing our efforts to address it. Climate change is running faster than we are,鈥� he said.
鈥淓very week brings new climate-related devastation... floods, drought, heatwaves, wildfires and super storms,鈥� Guterres said.
He warned the situation would only deteriorate unless 鈥渨e act now with ambition and urgency,鈥� but some of the world鈥檚 decision-makers still did not realize the dangers.
The UN chief held out hope in the Paris Agreement to cut harmful emissions and reduce global warming.
鈥淏ut we know that even if the promises of Paris are fully met, we still face at least a three-degree temperature rise by the end of the century 鈥� a catastrophe for life as we know it,鈥� Guterres said.
He was convening the Climate Action Summit because many countries were not even keeping pace with their promises under the Paris Agreement.
Under the Paris Agreement, the world is required to keep temperature rise under 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.
A landmark report last year by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said a safer cap of a 1.5 degree rise would see nations rapidly slash planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions via a sharp drawdown of fossil fuel use.
But some high-polluting nations, led by 萝莉视频, have questioned the IPCC鈥檚 findings, leading to angry exchanges at closed-door talks in Bonn.
It is thought that $300 billion will be needed annually by 2030 to help nations deal with climate-related disasters.
IPCC warned in October that warming was on track toward a catastrophic 3C or 4C rise, and that avoiding global chaos would require a major transformation.
鈥淭he Climate Action Summit is an opportunity for political, business and civil society leaders to set an example,鈥� Guterres said.